Former Indian cricketer and Tourism, Cultural Affairs, and Museums Minister in the Punjab state government Navjot Singh Sidhu travelled to Pakistan today. He is in the neighbouring country as a guest for the swearing-in ceremony of Imran Khan who will take oath as the next Prime Minister of the country on August 18.

Sidhu walked through the gate separating the two countries at the Wagah border. He interacted with the media on the other side and expressed that he was there as a messenger and wants to share Imran’s joy “with a message of love”. The dynamic cricketer also took a present for Pakistan’s World Cup winning captain. When the reporters asked him about it, he said that it is a Kashmiri shawl.

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A former Member of Parliament from the Bhartiya Janta Party, the 54-year-old also expressed grief on the demise of former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Sidhu said it was Vajpayee who worked really hard for a cordial and harmonious relationship between India and Pakistan which was symbolized by the friendship bus service between Delhi and Lahore.

#Indian cricket star Navjot Singh Sidhu says he has come to the country to become a part of #ImranKhan's happiness.

Other invited cricketers

Imran’s party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had invited the likes of Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar along with Sidhu. Among Pakistani cricketers, those on the guest list for the event are greats like Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Rameez Raja, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mushtaq Ahmed, Moin Khan and Aaqib Javed who were a part of the team that won the 1992 World Cup final.

The prime minister-in-waiting had himself called his Indian counterparts to extend a personal invitation.

“The chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Imran Khan, who is going to be sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, has sent an invitation to former cricketer and Cabinet Minister, Punjab, Navjot Singh Sidhu to his swearing-in ceremony. Apart from this, Khan also extended a personal invitation to Sidhu on the phone which was accepted in all humility by the latter,” a government spokesman said.